Shoe machines



Oct. 31, 1961 R. w. BRADSHAW SHOE MACHINES 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed March9, 1960 Inventor Robert WBrads/vaw By his Attorney Oct. 31, 1961 R. w.BRADSHAW 3,006,295

SHOE MACHINES Filed March 9, 1960 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 United States Patent3,006,295 SHOE MACHINES Robert William Bradshaw, Leicester, England,assignor to United Shoe Machinery Corporation, Boston, Mass.,

a corporation of New Jersey Filed Mar. 9, 1960, Ser. No. 13,849 Claimspriority, application Great Britain Apr. 14, 1959 9 Claims. (Cl. 112-46)This invention relates to machines for operating upon stitchdown shoes,in which a welt is sewn or otherwise attached to a work piece consistingof a projecting marginal portion of an outsole and the outturned flangeof an upper by a seam extending entirely around the periphery of a shoewhile the shoe is supported on a last in a sole uppermost or invertedposition. More particularly, the invention resides in an improvement ina machine, such as that disclosed in United States Letters Patent No.2,900,932, granted August 25, 1959, upon application of George Pickfordand Ralph Ward.

In the machine of the prior patent there is provided mechanism actingautomatically to sever a welt while being sewn to the projectingmarginal portions of a stitchdown shoe through the engagement of theleading end of a welt already attached thereto With a feeler fingeradapted to be pressed in a substantially horizontal direction againstthe bulging last supported portion of the shoe upper into a position tobe actuated by the welt as the shoe is fed past it. It is wellrecognized that one of the difiiculties encountered with the use of suchmachines is, that because the shoe is presented to the machine with thesole uppermost the end of the welt first attached to the shoe is hiddenfrom an operators line of vision by the projecting marginal portions ofthe shoe. Accordingly, it is impossible for the operator of the machineto determine if the welt engages the feeler properly, especially when itis realized that the trailing end of the welt to be attached to the shoemust be severed from the welt remaining in the machine in advance of thepoint of sewing operations without interrupting or delaying theseoperations. Unless it is possible to observe the action of the feelerclearly, it is diflicult to favor its proper actuation by changing themanner of presentation of the shoe to the machine, so that there is alikelihood of producing an imperfection in severing the welt. If thewelt is not severed at the correct position, the two ends overlap or agap exists between them in a manner to prevent the best results frombeing obtained.

One of the several objects of the present invention is to provide animproved machine for attaching a welt or other strip of material aboutthe marginal portions of a work piece, and especially for sewing a weltto a stitchdown type of shoe, in which machine the objections abovereferred to are avoided.

The illustrated embodiment of the invention comprises a shoe sole sewingmachine having the usual stitch forming and feeding devices including awork support engaging the under side of the work piece operated upon, apresser foot engaging the upper side of the work piece where thevisibility is unobstructed, a needle acting from above the work piece, aguide located below the level of the work piece for directing a weltalong the work support to a position which is obscured by the projectingmarginal portions of the Work piece, and an electromagnetically actuatedwelt severing knife spaced in advance of the point of needle operationand having connected with it a control switch, in which means foractuating the control switch is mounted entirely above the level of thesurface of the work piece at a position where unobscured visibility ispossible. The control switch actuating means, in accordance with theinvention, is arranged to be engaged by a length of thread extendingfrom the first stitch 3,006,295 Patented Oct. 31, 1 961 "ice of a seaminserted by the needle as that thread length moves toward the sewingpoint a second time, the first stitch of the seam being inserted in apredetermined spaced relation from the leading end of the welt. In thisway a more effective control is afforded for actuation of the weltsevering knife than in the prior machine, and it is readily possible foran operator of the present machine to vary the position along the weltwhere the knife is actuated in accordance with the requirements dictatedby the character of the work without the exercise of more than averageskill and attention. As hereinafter illustrated, the means for actuatingthe control switch consists of a spring blade extending downwardly anddisposed at a position clearly visible to the operator in closeproximity to the uppermost surface of a work piece, such as a shoe sole,where the spring blade may be engaged by the length of thread extendingfrom the first stitch. The length of thread which actuates the controlswitch is held taut manually in a position extending at an acute angleto the upper surface of the work piece.

Preferably, the engagement of the taut thread length with the switchactuating blade is assured by the use of a guiding member which acts todirect the thread length against the blade substantially in advance ofits approach to the blade.

These and other features of the invention, as hereinafter described andclaimed, will readily be apparent to those skilled in the art from thefollowing detailed specification and claims, taken in connection withthe accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a view partly in front elevation and partly in diagrammaticform of portions surrounding the sewing point of a lockstitch shoe solesewing machine illustrating the features of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a partially sectional view in right side elevation of a weltsevering knife and its actuating mechanism in the machine of FIG. 1,looking in the direction of the arrow II;

FIG. 3 is a sectional plan view of parts of the machine of FIG. 1,illustrating a portion of a shoe during its presentation to the machine;and

FIG. 4 is a detail sectional view on a somewhat enlarged scale andlooking from the left, of the parts surrounding the sewing point in themachine and of a shoe being operated upon.

The machine embodying the present invention is a lockstitch shoe solesewing machine of the type disclosed in United States Letters Patent No.2,056,670, granted October 6, 1936, upon application of Gouldbourn etal. The machine is a wax thread curved hook needle machine of the clampfeed type, although the invention would be equally capable of use inother machines, such as that of United States Letters Patent No.2,271,611, granted February 3, 1942, upon application of Ashworth etal., or that of United States Letters Patent No. 1,169,909, grantedFebruary 1, 1916, upon application of Fred Ashworth, in which a workpenetrating awl acts to feed the work.

The machine of the invention is equipped with a guide through which awelt or narrow strip enters in advance of the sewing point and isdirected to the sewing point for application to the outflanged portionof an upper in a stitchdown shoe supported on a last. The machine isintended to insert a seam connecting together the welt, the outfiangedupper and an outsole entirely around the projecting marginal portions ofthe shoe, and to return to the starting point, preferably withoverlapping stitches, in order to insure firm attachment of the trailingend of the welt in engagement with the leading end first attached to theshoe. For the best quality of workmanship the ends of the welt arebrought accurately into abutting relationship and a continuous seam isinserted across the abutting ends. In this way a reliable inconspicuonsjoint is formed between the ends of the welt. Heretofore, it has beenpossible to insert a continuous seam across accurately butted ends ofthe Welt by means marginal portions of the shoe during the sewingoperation, it is not possible for the operator to prevent improperactuation of the knife by engagement of the feeler with portions of theshoe other than the welt end, and, accordingly, there is no opportunityfor him to favor the actuation of the welt severing knife as thecharacteristics I of the shoe and the peculiarities of the type of workbeing performed require. For this reason it has been found desirable toprovide the Pickford et a1. machine with a safety switch for preventingimproper actuation of the welt severing knife and a manually operatedlatch for rendering the safety switch inoperative. To assist theoperator of the prior machine in determining the proper time to renderthe safety switch inoperative a pointer has been secured'in a fixedposition on the fi-ame of the prior machine just above the point atwhich the Welt severing knife is located. With such arrangement it isincumbent upon the machine operator to actuate the safety switchreleasing latch at a time as close as possible to the approach to thepointer of the visible stitching at the leading end of the seam.However, this can be done only by viewing the upper tread surface of thesole on the shoeand by estimating the distance between the location I ofthe feeler and the point where the first visible stitch on the shoe soleappears.

To avoid the necessity for the use of a safety switch 1 with a latch andthe practice of estimating the distance between the feeler and the firstvisible stitch on the upper surface of an outsole, in accordance with animportant feature of the present invention, actuation of theweltsevering knife is no longer controlled'by an obscured 3 feeler butis eflected by the engagement of a length of thread extending from thefirst stitch of a seam inserted by fthe machine with a control switchactuating member. As a prerequisite for such manner of operation thespacing between the first stitch of a new seam and the leading end ofthe welt is maintained within a fixed distance as will be explained.

In the use of the thread length extending from the first stitch of a newseam to actuate the thread severing knife, the thread length is heldtaut by the operator at e an acute angle to the outsole of the shoe asthe first stitch of the seam approaches the operating point a secondtime after having nearly completed the circuit of the projectingmarginal portions of the shoe sole being sewn. This is not an additionalduty imposed upon the operator,

since it is customary for him to hold this length of thread taut toprevent it from becoming entangled with the needle and others of stitchforming devices when the stitches being formed overlap the first end ofthe seam.

Referring more particularly to the drawings, the con- 'struction andmode of operation of the machine, except as hereinafter described issubstantially the same as that 'in the machines of the prior patentsabove referred to. A shoe upper having a projecting marginal portion isindicated at 2 (see FIG. 4) and an outsole at 4, both mounted i ona-last 6 and presented to the sewing point of the machine where the workpiece comprising the projecting marginal portions is engaged between awork support 8 (FIG.

l '1) acting at the under side of the work piece, and a I presser foot10 engaging the upper side of the work piece (see FIG. 4). The worksupport and presser foot are actuated to grip the work and to move thework in the direction'of feed while gripping the'work. The stitchforming devices of the machine include a curved hook needle 12 acting toengage the shoe from the upper side, a work penetrating awl 14, a needlelooper 16, a thread finger 18, a loop spreader 19, a shuttle (not shown)and other lock stitch forming and thread handling devices disclosed morefully in the patents above referred to.

The work support 8 is secured to the forward end of a feed carriage 20mounted for oscillation about a vertical spindle (not shown).Oscillating movement of the carriage and simultaneous clamping andreleasing movements of the presser foot cause the welt to be fed alongthe work support. To direct the welt or similar strip of material alongthe work support toward the point of operation of the needle, there issecured to a portion of the carriage 20 by means of screws 22 a block 24forming a welt guide and having an upwardly inclined welt guidingpassageway 26. The upper end of the passageway 26 emerges from the block24 from below the level of the work engaging surface of the work support8, so that the welt indicated at 27 (FIG. 4) extends up- 7 wardlythrough the passageway and is gripped between 1 the work support andpresser foot along with the pro ecting marginal portions of the shoe. Adifiiculty common to this sype of machine is experienced in obscuringthe operators line of vision to the point of application of the welt tothe shoe when the shoe is presented to the machine.

To sever the welt at the end of a seam the welt guide block 24 isprovided with a guideway 28 entering the welt p of about 25 to thevertical.

; knife 30 is secured within a diametric cut in a plunger 32 slidinglymounted in the feed carriage 20, so that upward movement of the plunger32 will actuate the knife across the welt guide passageway 26 to severthe welt therein with a bevel cut, as a shoe sewing operation is beingcompleted, the knife and plunger being mounted for movement with thefeed carriage 20 carrying the 7 work support, so that there is nopossibility of displacing the welt 27 from the Work engaging surface ofthe 1 work support during sewing operations.

To actuate the welt severing knife 30 electromagnetic means is providedincluding the lower end of the plunger 32 having a conical head 34pressed downwardly by a spring 36 compressed between the carriage 20 andthe head 34. The head 34 acts against an upper horizontal face 38 of anenlarged head on the upper end of a stem 40. The stem 40 is slidinglymounted in a guideway of a bracket 42 secured to a stationary frameportion of the machine. The arrangement of the conical head 34 and theface 38 on the stem 40 enables the carriage member 20, in which theknife actuating plunger 32 is slidingly mounted to move in the directionof feed and to be back fed with the work support and presser footwithout changing the vertical position of the knife 30. In severing awelt the knife 30 enters the welt guide passageway 26 and cuts the weltagainst the upper surface of that passageway.

At the lower end of the stem 40 is a pivotal connection with the upperend of a pair of links 44 having their lower ends similarly connected bya pin 46 (see FIG. 2) to the upper end of a link 48, which is pivoted inturn to a bracket 50 secured to the machine frame, indicated at 52. Thepin 46 connecting the links 44 and 48 forms a knee joint for a togglewhich is moved toward and from a position of alinement with the pivotpoints at the upper and lower ends of the links to cause the weltsevering knife to be actuated. The pin 46 also passes through one end ofa horizontal link 54, the

other end of which ispivotally connectedto an armature 56, slidablymounted in a solenoid 58 secured to the frame 52 of the machine. Whenthe solenoid is energized the toggle 44, 48 is straightened and theknife 30 moves across the passageway 26 to sever the welt. When thesolenoid 58 is de-energized' the toggle is retracted to a position ofmisalinement between the pivots for the links by a spring 60 (FIG. 2)stretched between the pin 46 and a pin 62 on the frame of the machine.The links 44 have secured to them a handle 64 which man be depressed bythe operator to cause the welt to be severed manually rather thanautomatically.

To actuate the welt severing knife automatically the solenoid 58 isenergized through electrical connections with a control switch connectedmechanically to the presser foot entirely above the level of the workpiece, so that the control switch is clearly visible to the operator andmoves with the presser foot as the presser foot engages and disengagesthe upper surface of the work piece during sewing operations. In thisway the relationship of the control switch and the upper surface of thework piece is maintained uniformly constant.

For actuating the control switch with reliability there is mounted onthe machine of the present invention, at a position of unobscuredvisibility, means including a reversely bent thread guiding member 66.The guiding member 66 is mounted above the upper surface of the workpiece and is secured by a screw 68 to a level 70 (FIG. 4) which supportsthe presser foot 10. The lever 70 corresponds to a lever 385 disclosedin the patent to Gouldbourn et al. above identified.

The control switch has a contact 72 (see FIG. I) mounted on aninsulating sleeve 74 secured in a flange projecting forwardly from thethread guiding member 66. Co-operating with the contact 72 is a contact76 secured to a downwardly extending flat spring blade 1 78 attached bya screw 80 to an insulating block 82 mounted on a forwardly projectingflange of the thread guiding member 66, the lower end of the blade 78extending between arms of the guiding member. For mounting the block 82the thread guiding member has a counterbored hole through which passes afastening screw 84 received within a threaded opening in the block.During the normal progress of sewing, an end length, indicated at 86(FIGS. 3 and 4), of the shuttle or locking thread, is held taut alongthat portion extending from the last stitch of a seam and engages alower extension of the blade 78 to bring the contact 76 into engagementwith the fixed contact 72 of the control switch.

The arms of thread guiding member 66 are reversely and forwardly bent,overlapping each other in vertically spaced relationship, so that asviewed from above they appear to cross each other (FIG. 3).

The length 86 of the thread end held taut by the operator enters thespace between the arms of the thread guiding member as the feedingmovement of the shoe continues. The lowermost arm of the thread guidingmember is pointed somewhat forwardly at the front of the machine to liftthe thread length 86 upwardly away from the surface of the shoe sole andto bring it with certainty into engagement with the blade 78, whichextends in close proximity to the upper surface of the work piece. Theuppermost arm of the thread guiding member 66 also is pointed forwardlyat the front of the machine to guard the blade 78 from premature contactwith the thread length 86. Accordingly, less attention and skill isrequired of the operator than heretofore and greater opportunity, thanin the prior machine, is given to him to observe the action along otherareas where control of movements is vital to a successful sewingoperation.

A shoe ordinarily is presented to the stitch forming devices of anoutsole stitching machine in sole uppermost relation to enable theprojecting marginal portions of the shoe to be clamped securely betweenthe work support 8 and the presser foot 10. In order to insure properformation of the first stitch in a lockstitch outsole sewing machine,thread end portions of ample length are withdrawn from the supplies oflocking and needle thread before the shoe is presented to the machine. Astarting position of the seam ordinarily is selected along the shank ofthe shoe where the angle formed between the projecting marginal portionand the bulging upper of the shoe is the smallest, thus providing anopportunity for minimizing any minor unsightliness caused by improperstarting or failure to butt the ends of the welt accurately. Afterstarting the first stitch of the scam the shoe is guided and positionedat varying angles to insure a reliable stitch forming operationthroughout the length of the seam.

In order to reduce the possibility ofirregularities, a careful operatorgrasps and holds the thread end lengths during insertion of the firstfew stitches. Thereafter, as the shoe is fed the operator releases thethread lengths and continues sewing about the projecting marginal portions of the shoe until he observes the first stitch of the seam againapproaching the operating point. At this time most operators grasp thelength 86 of the shuttle or locking thread extending from the firststitch of the seam in order to prevent it from being entangled or drawninto the work during insertion of the final stitches, particularly whereas in the case of a stitchdown shoe the final stitches are inserted inoverlapping relation to the first stitches. In grasping the leading endof shuttle thread, the operator draws it taut against the securement ofthe first stitch to an acute angle position with relation to the sole ofthe shoe and at substantially right angles to the adjacent sole edge asviewed from the front of the machine. In so doing he brings the shuttlethread naturally into the space between the arms of the thread guidingmember 66, so that no special skill or attention is required. Since thethread guiding arms of the member 66 are carried by the presser footlever they will always occupy the same heightwise position relatively tothe tread surface of the outsole 4, and therefore the end length 86 willalways be in a suitable position for it to pass between the threadguiding arms and against the spring blade 78. After engaging the springblade 78, which terminates just above the level of the lowermost arm onthe thread guiding member, the taut length of shuttle thread slipsbeneath the spring blade and the blade returns to its original position,disengaging the contacts 72 and 76.

Upon closing the contacts 72 and 76 the solenoid 58 is energized by thecircuit shown diagrammatically in FIG. 1. Alternating current issupplied by a source of power 88 through a main switch 90 and atransformer 92 from which the current passes through a conductor 94 tothe screw 80 and the spring blade 78. When the contact 76 is moved bythe locking thread length 86 into engagement with the contact. 72, thecurrent passes through a conductor 96 to a coil of a relay 98, whichwhen energized causes a circuit to be completed through the solenoid 58and back to the source of power 88. After completing the sewingoperation upon one shoe, the presser foot 10 is raised to release theshoe.

To enable the first stitch of a seam to be inserted in a predeterminedspaced relation from the leading end of the welt first attached to theshoe the operator moves the severed end of the welt remaining in themachine through the welt guide passageway 26 to an indicating mark 100on the work support before starting the machine in operation on a newshoe. The position of this indicating mark is measured from the point ofoperation of the knife 30 and is spaced from the knife by an amountequal to the distance between the leaf spring 78 and the point ofoperation of the needle and awl on the work. Thus, during the first workpenetrating stroke of the needle and awl, the first stitch of a seamwill be formed and when the first stitch again ap- 7 preaches the sewingpoint, the'end length of the thread :when held taut at right angles tothe edge of the projecting marginal portions of the shoe will engage the-spring blade 78 at the exact distance from the welt severing knife aswill be required to bring the severed trailing end of the welt intoabutting relationship With the leading end of the welt first attached tothe shoe. In this way it is unnecessary to provide a safety switch-which must be rendered inoperative by the operator substantially inadvance of the completion of a seam,

since the spring blade 78 is well guarded by the thread guiding member66 against accidental contact or other irregular manner of operation.Also, with a little experience an operator may :be able to alter theposition of the locking thread end length slightly with respect 'to thesole edge of a shoe or to modify the operation by increasing ordecreasing the tension in the taut thread 'in compensation ofirregularities or other factors peculiar to the type of work operatedupon. Thus, the abutting of the welt ends is completed in a uniformdesirable manner.

The nature and scope of the invention having been indicated and aparticular embodiment having been specifically described, what isclaimed is:

1. A machine for attaching a welt to a work piece, said machine havingstitch forming and feeding devices, comprising a work support for anunder side of the work piece, a presser foot engaging the upper side ofthe work piece, a needle acting to engage the work piece from the upperside, a guide located below the level of the work piece for directingmovement of 'the welt along the work support toward the point of'operation of the needle at a position obscured by the work piece, awelt severing knife spaced in advance of the point of needle operationand movable transversely of the guide, and electromagnetic means foractuating said knife including a' control switch connected with saidelectromagnetic means, in combination with means mounted entirely abovethe level of the upper surface of the work piece at a position ofunobscured visibility for actuating the control switch.

2. A machine for sewing a welt to a work piece with a thread seam, saidmachine having stitch forming and feeding devices, comprising a worksupport for the underside of the work piece, a presser foot engaging theupper side of the work piece, a needle actingto engage the work piecefrom the upper side, a guide for directing the welt along the worksupport toward the point of operation of the needle at a positionobscured by the work piece, a welt severing knife spaced in advance of rthe point of needle operation and movable transversely of the guide, andelectromagnetic means for actuating said knife including a controlswitch connected with said electromagetic means, in combination withmeans for actuating the control switch mounted entirely above the uppersurface of the work piece at a position of unobscured visibility whereit may be engaged by a length of taut thread extending from the firststitch of the seam,

' and means on the work support to enable the first stitch of the seamto be inserted in a predetermined spaced re.- lation from the leadingend of the welt first attachedito the shoe.

3. A machine for attaching a welt to'a work piece, said machine havingstitch forming and feeding devices for inserting a lock stitchthreadseam, a work support for the underside of the work piece, a presser footengaging the upper side of the work piece, a needle acting to engage thework piece from the upper side, a guide a for directing movement of thewelt along the work support toward the point of operation of the needleat a position" obscured by the work piece, a welt severing knife spacedin advance of the point of needle 'operation and movable transverselyof-the guide, and electromagnetic means for actuatingisaid knifevincluding a con- ";trol switch conne'cted with said electromagneticmeans,- in

combination with a springblade extending fromthe control switch intoclose proximity with the upper surface g of the work where a length oftaut thread extending from the first stitch of the seam will engage theblade at a po- 1 sition clearly visible to the operator.

4. A machine for attaching a welt to a work piece, said machine havingstitch forming and feeding devices for inserting a lock stitch threadseam, a work support for the underside of the work piece, a presser footen- 1 gaging the upper side of the workpiece, a needle acting to engagethe work piece from the upper side, a guide for directing movement ofthe welt along the work support toward the point of operation of theneedle 'at a position obscured by the work piece, a welt severing knifespaced'in advance of the point of needle operation and movabletransversely of the guide, and electromagnetic means for actuating saidknife including a control switch connected with said electromagneticmeans, in combination with a spring blade extending from the controlswitch into close proximity with the upper surface of the work where alength of taut thread extending from the first stitch of the seam willengage the blade at a position clearly visible to the operator, and athread guiding member acting to direct the taut thread length intoengagement with the blade extending from the control switch.

5. A machine for attaching a welt to a work piece,

'said machine having stitch forming and feeding devices for inserting alock stitch thread seam, a work support for the underside of the workpiece, a presser foot engaging the upper side of the work piece, aneedle acting to engage the work piece from the upper side, a guide fordirecting movement of the welt along the work sup- 1 port toward thepoint of operation of the needle at a position obscured by the Workpiece, a welt severing knife spaced in advance of the point of needleoperation and movable transversely of the guide, and electromagneticmeans for actuating said knife including a control switch connected withsaid electromagnetic means, in combination with a spring blade extendingfrom the control switch into close proximity with the upper surface ofthe work j where'a -length of taut thread extending from the firststitch of the seam will engage the blade at a position clearly visibleto the operator, and a thread guiding member having reversely bent armsoverlapping each other in vertically spaced relationship between whichthe taut thread length is directed into engagement with the bladeextending from the control switch.

6. A machine for attaching a welt to a work piece, said machine havingstitch forming and feeding devices for inserting a lock stitchthreadseam, a work support for the underside of the work piece, a presser footengaging the upper side of the work piece, a needle acting to engage thework piece from the upper side, a guide for --directing movement of thewelt along the work support toward'the point of operation of the needleat a position obscured by the Work piece, a welt severing knife spacedin advance of the point of needle'operation and movable transversely ofthe guide, and electromagnetic means for actuating said knife includinga control switch connected with said electromagnetic means, incombination with means for actuating the control switchincluding athread guiding member having reversely bent arms overlapping each otherin vertically spaced relationship between which the taut'thread lengthis directed and a spring blade extending from the control switchentering between the reversely bent arms of the thread guiding member tocause the taut thread to engage the blade.

'7.- A machine for attaching a welt to a work piece, said machine havingstitch forming and feeding devices for inserting a lock stitch threadseam, -a worksupport for the underside of the work piece, apresser-footengaging the upper side of the work piece, a needle actingto engage the Work piece from the upper side, aj guide a for directingmovement of the welt along the work sup- "'!5 port toward the point ofoperation of the needle at a po sition obscured by the work piece, awelt severing knife spaced in advance of the point of needle operationand movable transversely of the guide, and electromagnetic means foractuating said knife including a control switch connected with saidelectromagnetic means, in combination with means for actuating thecontrol switch including a thread guiding member having reversely bentarms overlapping each other in vertically spaced relationship betweenwhich the taut thread length is directed, and a spring blade extendingdownwardly from the control switch with its lower end terminating abovethe level of the lowermost arm on the thread guiding member.

8. A machine for sewing a welt to a work piece with a thread seam, saidmachine having stitch forming and feeding devices, comprising a worksupport for the underside of the work piece, a presser foot engaging theupper side of the work piece, a needle acting to engage the work piecefrom the upper side, a guide for directing the welt along the Worksupport toward the point of operation of the needle at a positionobscured by the work piece, a welt severing knife spaced in advance ofthe point of needle operation and movable transversely of the guide andelectromagnetic means for actuating said knife including a controlswitch connected with said electromagnetic means, in combination withmeans for actuating the control switch mounted entirely above the uppersurface of the work piece at a position of unobscured visibility whereit may be engaged by a length of taut thread extending from the firststitch of the seam, including a thread guiding member having reverselybent arms crossing each other as viewed from above with the lowermostarm pointed somewhat forwardly to lift the taut thread length upwardlyaway from the surface of the work piece and a spring blade extendingfrom the control switch and entering between the reversely bent arms ofthe thread guiding member to bring the taut thread with certainty intoengagement with the spring blade.

9. A machine for sewing a welt to a work piece with a thread seam, saidmachine having stitch forming and feeding devices, comprising a worksupport for the underside of the work piece, a presser foot engaging theupper side of the work piece, a needle acting to engage the work piecefrom the upper side, a guide for directing the welt along the worksupport toward the point of operation of the needle at a positionobscured by the work piece, a welt severing knife spaced in advance ofthe point of needle operation and movable transversely of the guide andelectromagnetic means for actuating said knife including a controlswitch connected with said electromagnetic means, in combination withmeans for actuating the control switch mounted entirely above the uppersurface of the work piece at a position of unobscured visibility Whereit may be engaged by a length of taut thread extending from the firststitch of the seam, including a thread guiding member having reverselybent arms crossing each other as viewed from above with the lowermostarm pointed somewhat forwardly to lift the taut thread length upwardlyaway from the surface of the Work piece and a spring blade extendingfrom the control switch and entering between the reversely bent arms ofthe thread guiding member to bring the taut thread with certainty intoengagement with the spring blade, the uppermost arm of the threadguiding member being pointed forwardly to guard the spring blade frompremature contact with the taut thread length.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS2,155,438 Mornll Apr. 25, 1939 2,562,810 Muc July 31, 1951 2,589,347Demerath Mar. 18, 1952 2,734,469 Ruhr Feb. 14, 1956 2,775,217 Ruhr Dec.25, 1956 2,900,932 Pickford et al Aug. 25, 1959

